Medlow Bath (

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

: 2780) is a village located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. Located between and , its altitude is about . It is about west-north-west of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

and north-west of Katoomba. At the 2016 census, Medlow Bath had a population of 611 people.

Description and history

Medlow Bath is set in a semi-rural area which includes fire-prone eucalypt forest, and has been subject to

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

threats many times during its history. The

Hydro Majestic Hotel The Hydro Majestic Hotel is located in Medlow Bath, New South Wales, Australia. The hotel is located on a clifftop overlooking the Megalong Valley on the western side of the Great Western Highway. The hotel is heritage listed and is notable fo ...

was developed by Sydney businessman, Mark Foy in the early years of the twentieth century and was the main economic activity in the area, until bushfires nearly destroyed the hotel in the summer of 2003. There is an elaborate network of walking tracks, which were developed in the bushland between the hotel and the escarpment of the

Megalong Valley Megalong Valley is part of the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of Katoomba, New South Wales, Katoomba. On its eastern side, the valley is separated from the Jamison Valley by Narrow N ...

. The tracks offer scope for many fine bushwalks and views of the Megalong Valley, but in more recent years have deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. Other tracks in the area include Bruce's Walk, an old track that was upgraded by bushwalkers and other volunteers in the 1980s. Bruce's Walk is located a few kilometres east of Medlow Bath, on the fringes of the

Blue Mountains National Park The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of the Sydney CBD, and the park boundary is ...

, a huge park that is now a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Australia's first Prime Minister,

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, before ...

, died at the Hydro Majestic Hotel in 1920. Medlow Bath was originally known as Brown's Siding when it gave its name to a railway siding in 1880 because Brown's Sawmill was the main business in the area. In 1883, the town was renamed Medlow because there was another Brown's Siding near Lithgow.

Heritage listings

Medlow Bath has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Blue Mountains National Park:

Blue Mountains walking tracks The Blue Mountains walking tracks are heritage-listed picnic areas, walking tracks and rest areas located in the Blue Mountains National Park, west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. They were built from 1880 onwards. The property is owne ...

* Beauchamp Road: Medlow Dam * Great Western Highway:

Medlow Bath railway station Medlow Bath railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line in Medlow Bath in the City of Blue Mountains local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by NSW Government Railways and ...

Population

72.9% of people were born in Australia and 85.0% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.6%, Catholic 19.1% and Anglican 11.0%.

Transport

Medlow Bath was connected to the

Main Western railway line The Main Western Railway (or Great Western Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, and Central West, New South Wales, Central West regions. It is long, of which ...

in 1880, when the station was called Brown's Siding.

is now served by the

Blue Mountains Line The Blue Mountains Line (BMT) is an intercity rail service serving the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The line travels west from Sydney to the major town of Katoomba and on to Mount Victoria, Lithgow and Bathurst. M ...

. The

Great Western Highway Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...

is the main road access route. Katoomba Airfield, now disused except in emergency situations, is also located a few kilometres east of Medlow Bath.

Blue Mountains Transit CDC NSW is a bus operator in New South Wales, Australia. It is an umbrella brand of ComfortDelGro Australia established in 2017 to cover the latter's New South Wales operations, some of which had been owned by ComfortDelGro since 2005. It was sub ...

operates two bus routes through the suburb of Medlow Bath: * 698: Katoomba to Blackheath * 698V: Katoomba to Mount Victoria

References

External links

Towns in New South Wales Suburbs of the City of Blue Mountains {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub